EMPTY FIELD: The football practice fields at Northwood High were silent a day after student Dylan Bradshaw, 15, collapsed during a junior varsity practice and later died. EUGENE GARCIA, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER |
Annual physicals for high school athletes enough?
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School officials confident in system and wonder what more they can do.
School officials remained confident Thursday in their approach of medically clearing high school athletes.
On Wednesday, Northwood sophomore football player Dylan Bradshaw collapsed after practice and died.
The 15-year-old is the third Orange County high school athlete to die in the past year.
“If you have one (death), you have too many,” said Thom Simmons, spokesman for the CIF-Southern Section, which oversees nearly 569 schools in Southern California. “What can we do other than what we are doing?”
Southern Section bylaws require that schools have their student-athletes receive annual physical examinations from a medical practitioner.
The execution of the physical exams is the responsibility of the schools, school districts and parents, Simmons said.
While Bradshaw attended Northwood, a multistep medical clearance system was in place, said Marcia Noonan, coordinator of health services for Irvine Unified School District.
The system first called for the completion of a detailed health history form. The form, which requires a signature of a parent or guardian, covered family medical history, any medication and allergies among the questions.
The second requirement was a physical screening by a physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant.
If health concerns surfaced, Noonan said, students were then required to seek medical clearance for athletics from their health care provider.
About a month ago, the district approved a revision of its health forms to make them more thorough, Noonan said.
Contact the writer: dalbano@ocregister.com
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